Final Fantasy Tactics is one of the PSOne titles that remains frozen in time for most gamers, despite its odd translation. Heralded as one of the deepest and most rewarding Strategy RPGs ever created, gamers clamored for a sequel. Though when a quasi-sequel was released for the Game Boy Advance, many of the hardcore lambasted it for being uncomplicated and too easy compared to its predecessor. Those gamers will likely herald Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions much more than Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.

While the majority of The War of the Lions is ported directly from the PSOne title, there are many new features to this edition. There are two new classes, the Dark Knight, which was previously only available to Gafgarion early on in the game, and the Onion Knight, also seen in Final Fantasy III. In addition to its new 16:9 aspect ratio, The War of the Lions features brand new animated cutscenes, which will be voiced for the title's North American release. On top of these changes, two new playable characters will be added: Balthier, one of the main characters from the PlayStation 2 title Final Fantasy XII, and Luso, a monster hunter in the as-of-yet unreleased Final Fantasy Tactics A2 for the Nintendo DS.

The one change for the negative in the PSP version is the fact that there is, indeed, some slowdown in the animations. While this slowdown is noticable, we didn't feel it took anything away from the gameplay. American gamers will have a chance to re-live the stories of Delita and Ramza on October 9, 2007.

Final Fantasy II

Final Fantasy II isn't what the average American thinks it is. Most gamers, though probably not those reading this site, think of Final Fantasy II as the SNES release featuring Cecil. Most don't know what a Famicom is, but quite a few have played it either in its Final Fantasy Origins (PSone) or Dawn of Souls (GBA) iterations. As with Final Fantasy, Square Enix has re-made the game for Final Fantasy's 20th Anniversary. Now with re-drawn sprites and re-mixed music on the PSP, a new generation of gamers can discover the initial source of Chocobos and a man named Cid.

What sets Final Fantasy II apart from other iterations of the series is its leveling system. Unlike most of the other Final Fantasy titles, Final Fantasy II levels up Guy, Firion, Maria, and Co. as they do their actions. If a character uses attacks and swords, his or her strength and sword skill will increase, whereas a healer will see increases in MP and healing aptitude. Final Fantasy II is also the first Final Fantasy to have a plot beyond "go save the world, adventurers!" Final Fantasy II follows Firion, Guy, and Maria as they escape their village under attack and are trying to stop the reign of a merciless empire bent on world domination.

American gamers will have the chance to re-visit Final Fantasy II when it is released on the PSP on July 24.